JavaScript's recent rise in popularity calls attention to platforms such as Node.js, which offers a revolutionary take on the role of JavaScript on the web. By now, it's clear that Node.js is a valuable tool for those who care about the future of web development.

Why Care About Node.js?

Developers Embrace Node.js for a Number of Reasons, Including:

Better performance. PayPal, one of the major early adopters of Node.js, noticed that when compared with a similar Java framework using Spring, Node.js showed a 35% average decrease in response time when delivering pages to the end user. Other companies have noted comparable improvements.

Better time to market. Node.js is a lightweight, flexible tool with a smaller CPU footprint, fewer files and lines of code, and no compilation required. This lets you write, test, and deploy your code quicker and easier than with alternatives like Java, PHP, and Ruby.

Strong user community. Dozens of major companies, from Yahoo and Netflix to Walmart and Microsoft, have adopted Node. In 2015, more than 120 of the Fortune 500 companies used Node.js internally. This corporate support caused interest in Node.js to skyrocket among both developers and hiring managers. Check out Cloud Elements Developer community

How to Integrate Node.js Into Your Stack

Even if you're already using technologies like Java and PHP, you can integrate Node.js into your tech stack using various APIs developed by the Node.js community. For example, Node.js and Java can work together using the node-java API and you can run Node.js web applications on a PHP server using Node.php. If you're merely curious about trying Node.js, there are a number of internet tutorials that will walk you through topics such as creating a REST API with Node.js and integrating Node.js into various platforms.

How Node.js Benefits Your Business

Some businesses that switched to Node.js have written extensively about the positive effects for users. For example, Groupon reported that its page load times were cut in half after moving from Ruby on Rails to Node.js. Additionally, when Walmart launched its new Node.js system on Black Friday of 2013, servers remained online and CPU utilization never went above 1 percent.

Adopting Node.js benefits your product and app development teams, as well as potential hires. As a fresh, interesting technology, Node.js helps motivate developers, making them more productive and challenging them intellectually. Jeff Harrel, director of user interface engineering at PayPal, said: "Since PayPal has adopted Node, I’ve been told countless times from engineers in passing that they are energized by their job again and excited to be adopting a modern technology to build our future."